Draft appliance for railway-vehicles.



Patented Ju1y'24, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l E. L. BRADFORD & G. P. RITTER. DRAFT APPLIANCE FORRAILWAY VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22. |915- msm-m E. L. BRADFORD 6I G. P. RITTER.'DRAFT APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES.'

APPLICATION FILED IuIY 22. I9I5.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNORS TO THE MCCONWAY & TORLEY COMPANY, OF

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

DRAFT APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAY-VEHICLES.

Application filed July 22, 1915.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWIN L. BRADFORD and GILBERT P. RITTER, citizensof the United States, residing, respectively, at Takoma Park, in theDistrict of Columbia, and at Washington, in the District of Columbia,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft Appliancesfor RailwayVehicl-es; and we do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

Our invention relates to the construction of draft appliances forrailway vehicles and is designed to afford simple, durable and eihcientmeans for centralizing the stem of a laterally movable coupler withrespect to the vehicle upon which it is mounted and, in case the head ofthe coupler is pivotally mounted upon the stem thereof, to also affordmeans for centralizing said head with respect to the stem.

A further object of the invention is to so form and combine the severalelements constituting the mechanism as to render it easy to assemble anddisassemble the parts, thus facilitating the making of repairs when anymay be required.

Although, as will hereinafter appear and be particularly pointed out inthe claims, there are various elemental combinations contributing to theaccomplishment of the objects mentioned, such objects, generally stated,may be said to be effected by combining with a laterally movablecoupler` stem the following instrumentalities mounted on said stem in anorderly arrangement from front to rear, namely, a pivoted coupler head,a reciprocating follower, a spring,V

another follower, and a lever device. This arrangement of devicesresults in the production of a simple form of mechanism the parts ofwhich may be assembled and disassembled without the use of special toolsand without the necessity of cutting any rivets. t

In the drawings illustrating the invention, the scope whereof is pointedout in the claims,

Figure l isa side elevation of a car cou- Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2d, 15M?.

Serial No. '41,307'.

pler provided with centralizing mechanism constructed in accordance withthe invention, a portion of the coupler head being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the devices illustrated in Fig. l, a portion ofthe stein of the coupler being broken away, the coupler head being inhorizontal section and the parts being in normal position.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal central section of the devices illustrated inFigs. l and 2, the lever device by which the spring is operated when thecoupler stein is displaced laterally being shown in plan and the severalparts being illustrated in the positions they occupy when the railwayvehicle is passing around a curve.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical. section of the mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section, taken on the line 5-5, Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a view of another formof our invention, the coupler head beingin horizontal section, the upper plate or branch of the coupler stembeing removed, and the remaining parts being shown in plan in theirnormal positions;

Fig. 7 is a detail side elevation of a portion of the mechanismillustrated in Fig. 6.

In the drawings, l indicates the stem of a coupler and 2 is the couplerhead. The head is preferably connected to the stem l by means of a pivotpin 3, and the stem l is preferably formed with similar upper and lowerplates or branches a which are united at their rear ends. As aconvenient means for pivotally connecting the coupler to a car the rearend of the stem l may be provided with a pivot pin opening 5 which isadapted to receive the usual tail pin (not shown) whereby the couplermay be attached to the draft rigging devices.

Upon the stem l of the coupler are slidably mounted a follower 6 andanother follower 7. Between these followers a spring 8 is interposed.The forward follower G is designed to be forced rearwardly to cause acompression of the longitudinally extending spring 8 when the couplerhead 2 is rotated on the pivot pin 3 in either direction from its normalposition. To this end such follower 6 is preferably formed withlaterally disposed forwardly extending arms l or portions 9 whichAterminate aty their outer ends in vertically extending faces which areadapted to copeiate with correspondingvertically extending shoulders 10that are formed upon the interior of the coupler head.

The rear follower 7 is moved forwardly to cause a compression of thespring 8 when the coupler stem 1 is displaced laterally from itsinornialposition. This movement of the follower 7 is preferably effected by alever device 11 which though it may be made integral is inleii'ect aplurality of levers since it is provided with a plurality of fulcrumpoints 12 which are adapted to respectively coperate with correspondinglater ally spaced fulcrum points lxupon the coupler stem. Thefulcruiiipoints -12 are preferablyforined as curved seats or recesses,while the fulcrum points A13 of the stem are preferably convexly curvedprojections at the forward end of the fulcrum member or spacer 14,whichis securedbetween the plates or bars4 of tthe coupler stein toward therear end thereof. by means of rivets 15. The

p leverldevice 11 is fashioned with forwardly extending arms 16 whichrespectively project laterally from lopposite sidesof the. con

pler stem and whose extremities areadapted to engagea carryiron 17 orother abutment carried by the railway vehicle. In order topermitthefollower to move rectilinearly during the turning movementsiofthe lever device 11 :upon .either of its fulcrum points, said leverdevice and followerl arearranged -to rock upon each t other. Thisrocking movement may be conveniently provided for by forming the leverdevice 11 at a point intermediate of its fulcra.with verticallyextending pintles 18 which are adapted to entercorresponding seats orrecesses 19 at the rearends ofthe upper end lowei-.plate-like extensionsor guidesA 20 with which the follower 7 is preferably provided.

It is preferred vto so construct the mechanism thatone of the followersmay engage and serveto Aguide the otherl during its reciprocations withArespect to the coupler stem.,V In the formbf construction illustratedin Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, ofthe drawings, the follower 6 is designedto guide the follower 7. To this end the follower 6 is provided withguiding means which instead.,

of passing throughthe-spring 8 are formed as rearwardly extendingtbars21 whicheverlappingly engage `the vlateral edges of the upper andTvlower plates or branches 4 of the coupler stem as well as the lateraledges of ward follower.

spect to the followers 6 and 7, the .guidemembers 21 of the forwardfollower are formed near their rear ends with openings 24 which areadapted topermitfthe. ,passage of the pintles 18 of the lever\,tle-vice.

In the construction illustrated in-Figsf and 7 each lof the followersisindependently guidedby engaging the plateslor branchesv 4 of tliecoupler stem 1. In this form of, construction the spring S is interposedbe-` tween-a forward follower 25and a rearl follower26,` The forwardvfolloweris provided with arms 9 corresponding in jform and; function tothe arms 9 of the follower 6, but;y

instead of having guiding Abars. or. flanges 2l,A

which have overlapping engagemenhwith the follower 26 :said lfollower 25is provided with comparatively shortguiding bars A oriV flanges V27`which have overlapping engage#` ment` with ithe-lateral edges of. the;.coupler stein plates 4 only. i As shown-in Fig. .6, the innerfaces ofthe guides 27 may be'l formedv withlongitudinally extending ribs 28which,

by vengaging' the ,plates 4, serve to prevent anylvei'tical twistingmovement of the foru The rear follower 26 is substantially identical inconstructionv to the follower except that .it is provided upon each side.with vertically extending'lguidev flanges 29 which have overlappingengageinentwith thelateral edges ofthe plates or bars 4 of the coupler.As the guiding bars 27 have no transverse.connections overlapping thefiller member or fulcrum; block 30,

llli)A the forward end ofthe latter need not be recessed but may .extendvertically the full distancebetween the-,opposedfaces of the as thatemployedvinthe form of construetion heretofore described.Y Except forther differences that have been particularly noted theufeatures ofconstruction illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 are thesame as those shown inFigs. 1 to 5, inclusive, and, accordingly,

the corresponding structural features in both forms of the inventionhave been indicated by corresponding reference `-characters..

The mechanism sho-wnin Figs. 1 to .5, iii-1 elusive, foicentralizing thecoupler stem and the coupler as who-le, as well as for centralizing thecoupler head with frespect to the stem, may be assembled as follows:Thelever. device 11 is insertedntransversely between they rearwardlyextending portions 21 of the follower member 6, the pintles 18 passingthrough the corresponding openings 24. The rear follower 7 is thenplaced in position and brought intov engagement with the pintles uponthe lever device, after which the spring 8 is inserted. As thusassembled these devices are inserted between the upper and lower platesor branches 4 of the coupler stem and are slid rearwardly until thefulcrum points 12 of the lever device engage the corresponding fulcrum'points 13 on the fulcrum block or filler mem ber 14. The coupler head 2is then placed in position and the pivot pin 3 is passed through theapertures in said head and the apertures in the forward ends of theplates 4, the spring 8 being compressed slightly. In assembling theconstruction shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the lever device 11 is placed inposition on the coupler stem, the rear follower 26 is entered betweenthe branches 4 of the stem and slid rearwardly, the spring 8 is nextplaced in position and the forward follower 25 is entered between thebranches of the coupler stem and moved rearwardly thereon. The couplerhead 2 may then be applied to the coupler stem l and secured thereto bymeans of the pivot pin 3. It will be noted that both forms of theinvention are highly advantageous in that either may be assembled ordisassembled without the necessity of using special tools or cutting anyrivets.

The mode of operation, of both forms of the invention will be readilyunderstood from a description of the operation of one form. Assuming theparts to be in normal position, the coupler stem being in thelongitudinal aXis of the railway vehicle and the coupler head beingcentralized with respect to the stem, the passage of the vehicle around'a curve will cause the coupler stem l to be displaced laterally fromits normal position. As the levers or lever arms 16 of the lever device11 are in contact or substantially in contact with the inner faces ofthe carry iron or abutments 17 carried by the vehicle, the lateraldisplacement of the coupler stem causes the lever device to rotate withrespect to said stem upon one or the other pair of fulcrum points 12 and13, thus causing the rear follower 7 to move forwardly and compress thespring 8 be tween it and the forward follower 6. Then the force causingthe displacement of the coupler stem from normal position ceases to act,the subsequent expansion of the spring 8 restores the several partsofthe mechanism to normal position, thus returning the coupler stem to acentral position. When the coupler head 2 turns upon the pivot pin 3with respect to the coupler stem 1, one or the other of the verticallyextending shoulders 10 upon said head remains in engagementwiththe outerend of the adjacent projection or extension 9 of the follower 6, thuscausing the latter to move rearwardly and compress the spring 8 againstthe rear follower 7. The subsequent expansion of the spring 8 returnsthe follower 6 to normal position, thus rotating the coupler head 2until it is centralized with respect to thc coupler stem. Vhile theseoperations of the centralizing mechanism have been separately described,it is to be understood that they may, and usually do, occursimultaneously.

We claim:

1. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, the combination with alaterally swinging coupler having a. head and stem, of a lever devicemounted on said stem and adapted to have a turning movement with respectthereto, and a spring mounted on said stem and adapted to be energizedby said lever device, said spring being disposed in the direction oflength of said stem and being located between said lever device and saidhead.

2. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, the combination with alaterally swinging coupler having a head and stem, of a lever devicewhich is adapted to turn with respect to said stem and which is providedwith a plurality of spaced fulcra, and a spring which is adapted to beenergized by said lever device, said stem being provided with aplurality of laterally spaced fulcra which are adapted to coperate withthe corresponding fulcra of said lever device, and said spring when thelever device is displaced from normal position being adapted to exertpressure upon said lever device at a point between the then actingfulcrum and the point of application to the lever device of the forcecausing the displacement of said device.

3. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, the combination with alaterally swinging coupler, of a lever device which is movable withrespect to said coupler, and yielding means acting upon said leverdevice,

said lever device having a plurality of fulcra, one of said fulcra beingactive and the other being inactive when the coupler is displacedlaterally from normal position, and the inactive fulcrum being betweenthe active fulcrum and the point of application to the lever device ofthe force causing the displacement of said lever device from nor malposition.

4. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, the combination with alaterally swinging coupler having a head and stem, of a lever devicemounted on said stem and adapted to have a turning movement with respectto said stem, and yielding means which are energized by the displacementof said lever device from normal position, said CIT- lever device having,a plurality of fulcra and a plurality of arms projecting laterally fromsaid stem and extending from said fulcra forwardly toward the couplerhead, said lever device being adapted to be actuated through either ofsaid arms, and said yielding means `being operatively connected to saidlever device between the fulcra thereof.

5. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, A.the combination with a)laterally swinging coupler stem, of a vcoupler head pivotally mountedon said stem, a lever device mounted upon said stem, and a spring`located between said lever device and said head and adapted to beenergized both by a displacement of said lever device from normalposition and by a displacement of said :head with respect to said stem,said head -when displaced laterally in. either direction from normalposition with respect to said stem being adapted to move one end of saidspring to energize the same, and said lever device -being adapted tocause the movement of the other end of said spring when said stem isrotated in either direction from normalosition.

6. `n a draft appliance for railway vehicles, 1the combination with alaterallyiswingingcoupler having a head andstem,lof -alever devicemounted on said stem and adapted to turn with respect thereto, 4andmeans 4extending the direction 4of length of said stem for yieldinglyresisting movement of said lever device, said lever 4device having aplurality of forwardly extending arms each of which is adapted Atoengage the railway vehicle at a -poin-t betweenthe coupler head and thepoint about which sucharm turns.

7. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, thefcombination with alaterally swinging coupler stem and .a yhead pivotally mounted -on saidstem, :of a lever device mounted on said stem and adapted to iturn withrespect thereto, :means `for yieldingly resisting movement of said-lever'device with respect to said stem, `said means being locatedbetween 'vsaid lever device and said head, and :means-'movablelindependently yof said lever :device for rotating ysaid head to normalposition with respect to-said stem.

l8. In a draft appliance lfor `railway vehicles, the combination with avlaterally swinging coupler stem, of the following -instrumentalitiesmounted on saidstem in-orderly arrangement, to wit, a pivoted-.couplerahead, av reciprocating follower, a spring, another follower, and meansfor actuatingfsaid last named follower.

9. Ina draft appliance for :railwayvehicles, the combination with alaterally-swinging coupler having a head and stem, of a lever device,having a plurality of fulcra adapted :to engage corresponding fulcrumpoints on said stem and having a plurality ofarmsadapted to engage therailway vehicle in advance .of the said fulcra, and spring means forresisting movement of said lever device with respect Ato said stem, saidspring means being located between :the coupler head and said leverdevice.

tO. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, the combination withalaterally swinging coupler having ,a fhead and stem, vof :the followinginstrumental-ities mounted on said stem in Aorderly arrangementrearwardly, to wit, :a spring, Aa follower, kand .a lever devicewhichris adapted Ltoitunn with respect -to said stem.

1l. AIna draft appliance for railway vehicles, fthefcombination with adaterally swingi-ng Acoupler stem and la `head Vpivotally mounted:onsaid stem, of'fa lever device fulcruming on :said stem, a .spring foryieldingly resisting displacement '.of said .lever device from normalposition and for yieldingly resisting displacementV Vof said Ihead fromnormal position with respect to said stem, a follower interposedv:between said spring-and said leveridevice, anda follower interposedbetween said spring .and said head, said followers Shaving engagingportions whereby one of them serves to yguide .the other.

'12. .In a ydraft appliance for railway .vehicles, the `combination with4a laterally swinging coupler having a ihead and stem, of fa followerslidably Ymountedon said stem, a `rigid 'lever dev-ice movably mountedon said stem and engaging said follower, and a spring fadapted to :beactuated through said 'follower =by said -lever device, ksaid followerand said lever device having 4engaging lportions forming a rockingbearing.

13. @In a draf-t appliance Efor :railway lvehicles, the -combinationwith a laterally `'swinging coupler :having a head and stem, ofwa springmounted .on said stem, a lever device mounted on said stem, and aEfollower interposed between said spring and leverdevice .adapted tov'cause said spring to be energized when said stem is displacedlaterally lfrom normal position, said vlever device having a pluralityof arms and pintles `engaging said follower intermediate yof thefends ofsaid arms;

l14. 'In a `draft appliance for railway vehicles, the combination withVa vlaterally swinging couplerstem and a headpivotally mountedonsaidstem, of a follower `mountedll on said stem y and .engaging said headand adapted fto `be actuated by said head, said vfollower havinglongitudinally extending portions z and a plurality oftransverselyextending portions connecting said longitudinally extending portionsatdierent points, a spring seated upon said follower and located inl,other space between :the transversely extending yportions thereof,another 'follower Vbearing .against said` spring, and

means for actuatingsaid lastanamed fol- 13.0

lower to energize said spring when the coupler stem is displacedlaterally from its normal position.

15. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, the combination with alaterally swinging coupler stem and a head pivotally mounted on saidstem, of a follower mounted on said stem and engaging said head andadapted to be actuated by said head, a spring adapted to be energized bysaid follower when said head is displaced laterally from normal positionwith respect to said stem, and means for energizing said spring when thesaid stem is displaced laterally from normal position, said meansinvolving a lever device which is mounted on said stem and is movablewith respect to said stem and another follower having a rocking bearingon said lever device.

16. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, the combination with alaterally swinging coupler having a head and stem, of a lever devicemounted on said stem and adapted to turn upon a plurality of fulcrumpoints carried by said laterally swinging stem, and a spring which isenergized by the turning movement of said lever device on either of saidfulcrum points when the coupler stem is displaced laterally from itsnormal position, said spring and the fulcrum points carried by said stembeing on opposite sides of said lever device.

17. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, the combination with alaterally swinging coupler stem and a head pivotally mounted on saidstem, of a spring, means whereby the pivotal displacement of said headfrom normal position with respect .to said stem causes said spring to beenergized, and means whereby the lateral displacement of said stem fromnormal position causes said spring to be energlzed,

said means last named involving a lever device having a plurality offulcra, said fulcra and said spring being upon opposite sides of saidlever device.

18. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, the combination with alaterally swinging coupler stem and a head pivotally moimted on saidstem, of a spring mounted on said stem and extending in the direction oflength thereof, means whereby the displacement of said head from normalposition with respect to said stem causes said spring to be energized,and a lever device actuated by the lateral displacement of said stem forenergizing said spring, said head and said spring both being on the sameside of said lever device.

19. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, the combination with alaterally swinging coupler stem and a coupler head pivotally mountedthereon, of a lever device mounted on said stem, and a spring adapted tobe energized by said lever device upon a lateral swinging movement ofsaid stem and also adapted to be energized independently of said leverdevice by a pivotal movement of said head with respect to said stem,said lever device having a plurality of arms adapted to have pivotalmovement with respect to said stem, and each of said arms extendingforwardly from its point of pivotal movement toward said coupler headand being adapted to engage a stationary part of the car.

In testimony whereof we ailiX our signatures.

EDWIN L. BRADFGRD. GILBERT P. RITTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

